BEAVER CREEK, CO (Dec. 1) – Slalom World Champion Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) earned her first Audi FIS Alpine World Cup giant slalom podium Sunday, taking second during the final event of the Nature Valley Raptor women’s World Cup week. After laying down an inspired first run for the roaring hometown crowd, Shiffrin produced a fluid final run that nearly snatched the win away from Jessica Lindell-Vikarby of Sweden. The final was broadcast live on NBC, and Universal Sports will air a repeat broadcast Wed. Dec 11 from 6-30-8:00 p.m. EST.

HIGHLIGHTS

Slalom World Champion Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) earned her first Audi FIS Alpine World Cup giant slalom podium Sunday, taking second during the final event of the Nature Valley Raptor women’s World Cup week.

After laying down an inspired first run for the roaring hometown crowd, Shiffrin produced a fluid final run that nearly snatched the win away from Jessica Lindell-Vikarby of Sweden.

Shiffrin’s previous best GS result was a sixth in Soelden, Austria to open the 2014 Olympic season.

Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) made the top 30, advancing to the run final in 28th but missed a gate and did not finish her second run.

The race was held on the future site of the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships at Beaver Creek Resort.

Universal Sports will air a repeat broadcast of the women’s giant slalom Wed. Dec 11 from 6-30-8:00 p.m. EST.

QUOTESMikaela ShiffrinIt’s my first GS podium and I’ve been working on my GS so it’s a big relief to be able to get on the podium and know that I’m actually doing something right. It’s my favorite slope and two amazing courses with awesome conditions. I don’t really think they could have done much better with this hill today, so I just tried to take advantage of that.

I followed through with my plan. I really just wanted to go out and ski as well as I could today. This hill is my favorite hill because it feels so good to make good turns and to arc the turn. That was my goal and I think I accomplished it pretty well.

It wasn’t really nerves that were getting me down the hill. I wanted to race. I couldn’t wait to get out of the starting gate. That was the coolest feeling for me so I’m going to try and take that into the next races.

I’ve been really lucky. I have such great support. Everybody who’s around me, my family, my friends and my sponsors, my teammates and coaches, everybody makes me feel at home no matter where I am. So when I’m in the starting gate I feel everyone around me. I feel all the support. I feel people who believe in me and that helps me believe in myself and handle whatever gets thrown at me.

The crowd was amazing. It’s going to be incredible to come back here next winter where I hope to defend my World Championship slalom title and hopefully compete for a few more medals.

Julia MancusoYea, it’s definitely a step in the right direction but still a little off on time. We have a lot of races and I feel like it’s tougher once you reach a certain level in your career. When you have ups and downs you have to remember that it keeps going. When you’re having breakthroughs when you’re younger everything seems to work a little easier. When you’ve been around for a long time it’s hard when you’re struggling to find that extra bit of energy.